Attorney General awards $600,000 grant to Colorado Foreclosure Hotline to help it continue its mission

03/15/2011

DENVER — Colorado Attorney General John Suthers announced today that his office has awarded the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline a two-year, $600,000 grant to allow the nonprofit to continue its mission of helping homeowners avoid foreclosure.

“The Colorado Foreclosure Hotline is the best resource available for consumers facing foreclosure,” Suthers said. “It is free and has a proven record of helping homeowners in distress assess their options and make an informed choice. This grant will help keep this resource available for the next two years as Colorado continues to experience historically high levels of foreclosures across the state.”

The grant, which starts in July, will be funded from the fines and penalties the Office of the Attorney General has recovered as part of its recent settlements with Countrywide Financial Corporation and Wells Fargo to resolve allegations related to mortgage fraud. The use of the funds from each settlement is directed by court orders.

The Colorado Foreclosure Hotline, established by the Colorado Foreclosure Task Force and managed by the nonprofit Brothers Redevelopment, serves as a network of more than two dozen HUD-approved housing counseling agencies. The agencies work with homeowners in or facing foreclosure. Homeowners who call the free hotline can speak with a housing counselor in their community about the options. In many cases, these counselors may also serve as an intermediary between the borrower and the mortgage loan servicer.

On average, the Hotline’s four-member team receives roughly 3,000 calls per month. More than 132,000 Coloradans have called the hotline since its inception in 2006. The network’s counselors have helped more than 25,000 Coloradans better understand their options and work to either avoid or not fall into foreclosure.

“On behalf of the thousands of struggling homeowners and the many caring housing counselors and agencies that comprise our active network, Brothers Redevelopment is grateful to the Attorney General and his staff for their strategic use of these resources that will continue to help households and stabilize communities across Colorado,” said Mary Ann Shing, president of Brothers Redevelopment.

The grant extends the successful partnership of the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline and the Office of the Attorney General. The Attorney General’s Office, working in conjunction with the Colorado Division of Housing, has made extensive funding available to the hotline over the past two years. Over the past six months, the Office of the Attorney General has worked with the hotline on the national Loan Modification Scam Alert Campaign — an extensive statewide outreach campaign to make homeowners aware of the predatory and illegal practice.